(One) of our best analysts in the business... Tom Clark, CTV Power Play, September 21, 2009

You squeeze more truth into one article than most political people do in a lifetime (R.S. December 2011)

You are the voice of reason. (K.L. March 2012)

Welcome to the introduction page for the Atory01 blog site.

As the title of this blog implies, this writer is a Tory or Conservative first and most comments will reflect that bias.

Ever since John Diefenbaker visited his community on an election tour, Keith has been fascinated by the political process and the strategies and tactics behind it. Over the years, this has allowed Keith to develop an in-depth knowledge of politics and the processes that impact on both everyday decisions as well as long term strategies.

Keith not only “talks the talk”, he has “walked the walk”. He has served in many different political positions, most recently as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Issues Management for Prime Minister Stephen Harper. In addition Keith’s political career has seen him serve as an elected city councillor, federal candidate as well as a campaign manager and advisor. Keith has also been a key member of various political war rooms; served as a ministerial chief of staff in three federal departments and he has been a senior political advisor to five party leaders. For over 10 years in both opposition and government roles; Keith was a key member of the Question Period team organizing the topics, writing questions and developing the strategies involved. Whether it was forming one of the best rapid response teams in Canadian politics, directing Question Period, or supervising opposition research, Keith has immersed himself in politics and this has aided him to develop a unique understanding of it.

Keith is a firm believer that in politics you have to be careful not to drink too much of the Kool-Aid of partisan rhetoric and never underestimate your opponent. As such, he is known for his astute observations and fair-minded critiques of all parties.

Today, Keith is the team leader for the Beardsley Team with Century 21 in Ottawa, serving all of the Ottawa region including many of the rural communities surrounding Ottawa. He still has a keen interest in politics and often serves as a political pundit and analyst. Keith is a member of the Advisory Council for GAC International.

A gifted writer, Keith has written for magazines and writes this blog about Canadian politics (www.atory01.com). He has also written a political affairs column for Power and Influence magazine and he has been published in the Huffington Post and National Post. Keith has also appeared as a pundit on a variety of political shows including CTV Power Play CTV Question Period as well as several CBC political shows and Mansbridge as well as various newscasts and radio shows across the country. Keith enjoys public speaking and has given presentations to many different types of organizations with audiences ranging from a few dozen to hundreds.

Keith can be found on Twitter as @atory01.

Additional comments about Atory01:

“… should change the name of his blog to "The Honest Tory." DG, October, 2012